TOMB RAIDER TALENT CREATES RPG FOR GBA

Tom Scutt comments: “The potential for role-playing gaming in the hand-held market is massive, as it allows gamers to continue developing their character wherever they go, instead of having to be restricted to their PC at home or at work.”

Unlike the cartoon linear world typical of GameBoy Advance, Spiralstone will allow gamers to roam freely in a realistic environment set in a dark fantasy world. Players choose and then develop their character in real time, on a journey where there are hundreds of quests to be fulfilled, and opponents such as goblins, skeletons, dragons and giants to be defeated.

The multi-player feature of the game enables gamers to partner up and fight enemies, which are too difficult to fight alone. Players can also split up to solve different puzzles and develop tactics independently, while still playing as a partnership, or even fight duels against each other in the cities’ arenas.

Tom Scutt continues: “Combining the best elements of the most popular existing computer role-playing games such as Diablo and Everquest with the collecting and trading elements of Pokemon, Spiralstone will take the gamer through a voyage of self-discovery and personal development, as they will continually be able to build up more power and abilities, as well as learning through the experience of other gamers as they go along.”

Company founders Martin Gibbins, Derek Leigh-Gilchrist and Tom Scutt are coding the game, with artwork from Peter Duncan (also ex-Tomb Raider) of Canny Monkey Productions.

Gatehouse Games also plans to develop role-playing games for third-generation mobile phones; the internet and next-generation consoles.